Over 90% of Ukrainian businesses face corruption in 2017 – study

Over 90% of respondents representing businesses in the Corruption Perception Survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce faced corruption in Ukraine in 2017, which corresponds to the indicator of 2014.

Read alsoUkraine's anti-graft agencies launch crackdown in Kyiv, two regions – media"Officials who 'got scared' in 2014 slowly begin to resume usual practice," Director of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Artem Sytnyk said during the presentation of the survey in Kyiv on January 29.

In particular, some 91% of the businesses surveyed faced corruption in 2017, whereas this figure was 81% in 2016. Noteworthy, the same 91% was reported in 2014. As was the case in 2014-2016, bribery was a popular form of corruption in 2017, while bribes for closing illegal proceedings ranked second.

The most corrupt bodies in Ukraine were courts (74% of respondents), as well as tax and customs agencies (54%).

In addition, 40% of respondents reported additional legal costs related to corruption. Moreover, 17% of those surveyed said their international partners were unwilling to work with Ukrainian companies because of the high level of corruption, while 22% of top managers of international companies do not want to develop and realize their potential in Ukraine for the same reason.

At the same time, 96% of respondents consider corruption practices in Ukraine widespread, whereas this figure was 99% in 2014, 98% in 2015, and 97% in 2016.